1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci

2.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice

3.
Battle of Brandywine
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The British Army defeated the American Army and forced them to withdraw toward the American capital of Philadelphia. The engagement occurred near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania during Howes campaign to take Philadelphia, more troops fought at Brandywine than any other battle of the American Revolution. It was also the longest single-day battle of the war, with fighting for 11 hours. Howes army departed from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, on July 23,1777, marching north, the British Army brushed aside American light forces in a few skirmishes. Washington offered battle with his army posted behind Brandywine Creek, while part of his army demonstrated in front of Chadds Ford, Howe took the bulk of his troops on a long march that crossed the Brandywine beyond Washingtons right flank. Due to poor scouting, the Americans did not detect Howes column until it reached a position in rear of their right flank, belatedly, three divisions were shifted to block the British flanking force near a Quaker meeting house. After a stiff fight, Howes wing broke through the newly formed American right wing which was deployed on several hills, at this point Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen attacked Chadds Ford and crumpled the American left wing. As Washingtons army streamed away in retreat, he brought up elements of Nathanael Greenes division which held off Howes column long enough for his army to escape to the northeast, polish General Casimir Pulaski defended Washingtons rear assisting in his escape. The defeat and subsequent maneuvers left Philadelphia vulnerable, the British captured the city on September 26, beginning an occupation that would last until June 1778. Unloading the ships proved to be a problem because the narrow river neck was shallow. General George Washington had situated the American forces, about 20, 300-strong and his forces were able to reconnoiter the British landing from Iron Hill near Newark, Delaware, about nine miles to the northeast. Because of the delay disembarking from the ships, Howe did not set up a typical camp, as a result, Washington was not able to accurately gauge the strength of the opposing forces. This site was important as it was the most direct passage across the Brandywine River on the road from Baltimore to Philadelphia, on September 9, Washington positioned detachments to guard other fords above and below Chadds Ford, hoping to force the battle there. Further upstream was a brigade under Colonel Moses Hazen covering Buffingtons Ford, Washington was confident that the area was secure. The British grouped forces at nearby Kennett Square, Howe, who had better information about the area than Washington, had no intention of mounting a full-scale frontal attack against the prepared American defenses. He instead employed a flanking maneuver, similar to that used in the Battle of Long Island, about 6,800 men under the command of Wilhelm von Knyphausen advanced to meet Washingtons troops at Chadds Ford. September 11 began with a fog, which provided cover for the British troops. Washington received contradictory reports about the British troop movements and continued to believe that the force was moving to attack at Chadds Ford

4.
Battle of Germantown
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The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. Howe left a garrison of some 3,000 troops in Philadelphia, while moving the bulk of his force to Germantown, learning of the division, Washington determined to engage the British. His plan called for four columns to converge on the British position at Germantown. The ambition behind the plan was to surprise and destroy the British force, much in the way as Washington had surprised. In Germantown, Howe had his infantry and the 40th Foot spread across his front as pickets. In the main camp, Wilhelm von Knyphausen commanded the British left, a heavy fog caused a great deal of confusion among the approaching Americans. After a sharp contest, Sullivans column routed the British pickets, unseen in the fog, around 120 men of the British 40th Foot barricaded the Chew Mansion. When the American reserve moved forward, Washington made the decision to launch repeated assaults on the position. Penetrating several hundred yards beyond the mansion, Sullivans wing became dispirited, running low on ammunition, as they withdrew, Anthony Waynes division collided with part of Greenes late-arriving wing in the fog. Mistaking each other for the enemy, they opened fire, meanwhile, Greenes left-centre column threw back the British right. With Sullivans column repulsed, the British left outflanked Greenes column, the two militia columns had only succeeded in diverting the attention of the British, and had made no progress before they withdrew. Despite the defeat, France, already impressed by the American success at Saratoga, Howe did not vigorously pursue the defeated Americans, instead turning his attention to clearing the Delaware River of obstacles at Red Bank and Fort Mifflin. After unsuccessfully attempting to draw Washington into combat at White Marsh, Washington, his army intact, withdrew to Valley Forge, where he wintered and re-trained his forces. The Philadelphia campaign had begun badly for the Americans, the Continental Army had suffered a string of defeats at Brandywine, and at Paoli, leaving the city of Philadelphia defenceless. Charles Cornwallis subsequently seized Philadelphia for the British on September 26,1777, Howe left a garrison of 3,462 men to defend the city, moving the bulk of his force north, some 9,728 men, to the outlying community of Germantown. With the campaigning season drawing to a close, Howe determined to locate, Howe established his headquarters at the Stenton Mansion, the former country home of James Logan. Despite having suffered successive defeats, Washington saw an opportunity to entrap and he resolved to attack the Germantown garrison, as the last effort of the year before entering winter quarters. His plan called for a complex, ambitious assault, four columns of troops were to assail the British garrison from different directions, at night, Washingtons hope was that the British would be surprised and overwhelmed much how the Hessians were at Trenton

5.
Battle of Monmouth
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The Battle of Monmouth was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on June 28,1778 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The Continental Army under General George Washington attacked the rear of the British Army column commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton as they left Monmouth Court House and it is also known as the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse. Sensing the opportunity to smash the Continentals, Cornwallis pressed his attack, finally, Washington tried to hit the exhausted British rear guard on both flanks, but darkness forced the end of the engagement. Both armies held the field, but the British commanding general Clinton withdrew undetected at midnight to resume his armys march to New York City. The battle improved the military reputations of Washington, Lafayette and Anthony Wayne but ended the career of Charles Lee, who would face court martial at Englishtown for his failures on the day. According to some accounts, an American soldiers wife, Mary Hays, brought water to thirsty soldiers in the June heat, British forces had captured Philadelphia in 1777. Clinton was ordered to dispatch units to West Florida and the West Indies which left him too few troops to continue occupying Philadelphia, Clinton was also ordered to abandon New York and withdraw to Quebec if he felt his position there was untenable. A French fleet under dEstaing had sailed from Toulon in April,1778 and it was originally intended that the withdrawing British army would travel directly to New York via the sea, escorted by the Royal Navy. A lack of transports forced Clinton to change his plans, while the stores, heavy equipment and Loyalist American civilians fleeing revenge attacks would be shipped by sea, the main army would march overland across New Jersey. On June 18, the British began to evacuate Philadelphia, the British force comprised 11,000 British and German regulars, a thousand Loyalists from Philadelphia, and a baggage train 12 miles long. As the British advanced, the Americans slowed their advance by burning bridges, muddying wells, with a high of over 100 °F, both sides lost almost as many men to heat stroke as to the enemy. Major General Charles Lee, Washingtons second-in-command, advised awaiting developments as he did not wish to commit the American force against the British regulars. However, Washington determined that the British column was vulnerable to attack as it traveled across New Jersey with its baggage train, Washington was still undecided how to attack the British column, and held a council of war. The council, however, was divided on the issue, with a group of officers including General Anthony Wayne urging a partial attack on the British column while it was strung out on the road. Lee was still cautious, advising only harassing attacks with light forces, Lee, as Washingtons senior subordinate, was initially appointed commander of the advance force, but turned it down because of his doubts about the plan. However, when the force was increased to 5,000, Lee met with his subordinates but failed to give them proper orders, resulting in a piecemeal and disorganized attack on June 28 against the British rear guard under General Charles Cornwallis. After several hours of fighting in the hot weather, several American brigades executed a tactical retreat, the British rear guard counterattacked and as his flanks rapidly became routed, Lee was forced to order a withdrawal. Washington, advancing with the force along the Monmouth road, encountered Lees fleeing troops and finally Lee himself

6.
Philadelphia campaign
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The Philadelphia campaign was a British initiative in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, which was then the seat of the Second Continental Congress. From there, he advanced northward toward Philadelphia, Washington prepared defenses against Howes movements at Brandywine Creek, but was flanked and beaten back in the Battle of Brandywine on September 11,1777. After further skirmishes and maneuvers, Howe was able to enter, Washington then unsuccessfully attacked one of Howes garrisons at Germantown before retreating to Valley Forge for the winter. General Howe resigned during the occupation of Philadelphia and was replaced by his second-in-command, Clinton evacuated the troops from Philadelphia back to New York City in 1778 in order to increase that citys defenses against a possible Franco-American attack. Washington harried the British army all the way across New Jersey, at the end of the campaign the two armies were roughly in the same positions they were at its beginning. While this time was punctuated by numerous skirmishes, the British army continued to occupy outposts at New Brunswick and Perth Amboy, Germain approved his plan, although with fewer troops than Howe requested. He also approved plans by John Burgoyne for an expedition to force his way to Albany from Montreal, Washington realized that Howe certainly ought in good policy to endeavor to Cooperate with Genl. Burgoyne and was baffled why he did not do so, historians agree that Lord Germain did a poor job in coordinating the two campaigns. Following Howes capture of New York and Washingtons retreat across the Delaware, Howe on December 20,1776 wrote to Germain, proposing an elaborate set of campaigns for 1777. These included operations to control of the Hudson River, expand operations from the base at Newport, Rhode Island. The latter Howe saw as attractive, since Washington was then just north of the city, Howe wrote that he was persuaded the Principal Army should act offensively, where the enemys chief strength lies. Germain acknowledged that this plan was well digested, but it called for more men than Germain was prepared to provide. However, by mid-May Howe had apparently abandoned the idea of an overland expedition and we must probably abandon the Jersies. Along the same lines Don Higginbotham concludes that in Howes view, was Burgoynes whole show, with regard to Burgoynes army, he would do only what was required of him. He sailed from New York not long after, Washingtons Continental Army had been encamped primarily at Morristown, New Jersey, although there was a forward base at Bound Brook, only a few miles from the nearest British outposts. In response to this raid, Washington moved his army forward to a fortified position at Middlebrook in the Watchung Mountains that commanded likely British land routes toward Philadelphia. For reasons that are not entirely clear, General Howe moved an army to Somerset Court House. If he performed this move as a feint to draw Washington out from his position, it failed

7.
Battle of Bound Brook
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The Battle of Bound Brook was a surprise attack conducted by British and Hessian forces against a Continental Army outpost at Bound Brook, New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War. The British objective of capturing the garrison was not met. The American commander, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, left in haste, abandoning papers. Late on the evening of April 12,1777, four thousand British, all but one detachment reached positions surrounding the outpost before the battle began near daybreak the next morning. During the battle, most of the 500-man garrison escaped by the unblocked route, American reinforcements arrived in the afternoon, but not before the British plundered the outpost and began the return march to New Brunswick. One of the bases used for these operations was at Bound Brook, located on the Raritan River upriver from New Brunswick. The post was responsible for patrolling three bridges across the Raritan likely to be used by the British in moves against the camp at Morristown. In February 1777, the Bound Brook outpost consisted of 1,000 men under the command of Major General Benjamin Lincoln, on the night of April 12, the plan was put into action. Under the overall command of Cornwallis,4,000 British, the right flank, under the command of Major General James Grant, consisted of the Hessian jäger corps, grenadiers from the English Brigade of Guards, and a detachment of British light dragoons. Ewald and a few of his jägers were in the vanguard of Grants column, unaware that this was supposed to be a feint, Ewald drove the sentries back nearly to the main redoubt where the outposts cannons were located. By sunrise he was surrounded, the timely arrival of von Donops column just over the river. The surprise was nearly complete, the Pennsylvania artillery company. Colonel von Donop reported that General Lincoln must have retired en Profond Négligé, the British plan was marred by the early skirmishing involving Ewald, and the too-late arrival of the companies sent to cut off the road to Morristown, Many Americans escaped via this route. The British captured also cannons, ammunition, and supplies, and looted Bound Brook, the Continental Army response was immediate, Washington sent a large force under Major General Nathanael Greene to reoccupy Bound Brook. The British had already left by the time arrived, Greene sent a detachment to harass their rear guard. This detachment caught up with the British near Raritan Landing, where they killed 8, General Howe reported that about 30 Americans were killed and 80 to 90 were captured, while General Lincoln reported that 60 of his men were killed or wounded. Howe claimed no deaths and seven wounded among the British and Hessians, Washington reported that he enemy lost the post at Eleven OClock the same day, & our people took possession of it again, and that the armys losses were trifling and not worth mentioning. He did, however, also report that between 35 and 40 killed or captured, and the loss of three field cannons, in a report to the Board of War, Washington admitted the capture of two cannons, two officers and 20 men from Colonel Proctors Regiment

8.
Battle of Cooch's Bridge
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It was the only significant military action during the war on the soil of Delaware, and it took place about a week before the major Battle of Brandywine. Reportedly, the saw the first flying of the American flag. Their advance was monitored by an infantry corps of Continental Army and militia forces that had based itself at Coochs Bridge, near Newark. On September 3, German troops leading the British advance were met by fire from the American light infantry in the woods on either side of the road leading toward Coochs Bridge. Calling up reinforcements, they flushed the Americans out and drove them across the bridge, after having successfully captured New York City in 1776, British military planners organized two expeditions to divide the Thirteen Colonies and, they hoped, decisively end the rebellion. One expedition was to control of the Hudson River by a descent from Quebec, while the other was targeted at the colonial capital. In pursuit of the objective, Lieutenant General William Howe embarked an army numbering about 18,000 onto transports in late July 1777. The Continental Army of Major General George Washington remained near New York until Howes objective became clear, Howes plan was gauged to the south, intending to move against Philadelphia via the Chesapeake. Washington marched his army, numbering about 16,000, through Philadelphia, riding further south and west to perform reconnaissance on August 26, Washington learned that the British had landed. On August 25, Howes army disembarked below a small town called Head of Elk in Maryland, due to the relatively poor quality of the landing area, his troops moved immediately to the north, reaching Head of Elk itself on August 28. The bridge was named for Thomas Cooch, a landowner whose house was near the bridge. These troops occupied Iron Hill and Coochs Bridge, Maxwells men were encamped on either side of the road leading south from Coochs Bridge toward Aikens Tavern in a series of small camps designed to facilitate ambushes. Those of our officers who know Washington well, maintained that the man in the coat was Washington. On September 2, Howes right wing, under the command of the Hessian general, Wilhelm von Knyphausen, left Cecil County Court House and headed north, hampered by rain and bad roads. Early the next morning, Howes left wing, headed by troops under the command of Charles Cornwallis, left Head of Elk, expecting to join with Knyphausens division at Aikens Tavern, about 5 miles east. Cornwallis reached the tavern first, and Howe, traveling with Cornwallis, a small company of Hessian dragoons led by Captain Johann Ewald headed up the road from the tavern toward Coochs Bridge as Cornwalliss advance guard. These were struck by a volley of fire from an American ambush, Ewald did not, and he quickly alerted the Hessian and Ansbach jägers, who rushed forward to meet the Americans. This began a running skirmish that Major John André described as follows, Howe rode to the front lines, and seeing Iron Hill crawling with enemy soldiers, ordered his troops to clear it

9.
Siege of Fort Mifflin
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The operation finally succeeded when the wounded Smiths successor, Major Simeon Thayer, evacuated the fort on the night of November 15 and the British occupied the place the following morning. Owing to a shift of the river, Fort Mifflin is currently located on the bank of the Delaware adjacent to Philadelphia International Airport. After General Sir William Howes British-Hessian army occupied Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 26,1777, with Philadelphia effectively blockaded by the Americans, the Howe brothers were forced to lay siege to Fort Mifflin in order to clear the river. A Hessian attempt to storm Fort Mercer failed with heavy losses on October 22 in the Battle of Red Bank, two British warships which had run aground near Mud Island were destroyed the next day. General George Washington reinforced Fort Mifflin throughout the siege, but the garrison never numbered more than 500 men, after a few setbacks, the British finally assembled enough artillery and warships to bring Fort Mifflin under an intense bombardment beginning on November 10. No longer able to reply to the British bombardment, Thayer ordered the survivors to row across to New Jersey in the night, Fort Mercer was abandoned soon afterward, opening the Delaware and permitting the British to hold Philadelphia until June 1778. After the British defeated the American army at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11,1777, Howe failed to follow up Washingtons withdrawal to Chester, from that town on the Delaware, the Americans marched northeast through Darby to cross the Schuylkill River at the Middle Ferry. From the ferry, the army moved north to present-day East Falls, for the next ten days, the two armies sparred while the British won the Battle of Paoli and several skirmishes. On the night of September 22, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and won an unopposed crossing of the Schuylkill near Valley Forge, on September 26, the British army occupied the rebel capital of Philadelphia. In the face of the British advance the Second Continental Congress fled first to Lancaster then to York, during the summer of 1777, Philippe Charles Tronson du Coudray, a French artillery expert, arrived from France. Congress appointed him a general and inspector general of ordnance. His aristocratic airs soon irritated people and he began to quarrel with another French military engineer, Louis Lebègue Duportail, about how the defenses were to be prepared and even managed to anger Gilbert Motier, marquis de La Fayette. To the relief of many, Coudray drowned on September 16 after he rode his horse onto a Schuylkill ferry. The Mud Island Fort was designed and begun by British engineer Captain John Montresor in 1771, the river front was shielded by a stone face, but then the work stopped due to a shortage of money. After the outbreak of war with Britain, the rest of the defenses were completed with wooden palisades and earthen ramparts. There were wooden barracks for the men along the west. Nearby was a building to accommodate officers. According to one of the soldiers, a battery of 18-pound artillery pieces stood at the southeast end of Mud Island

10.
Valley Forge
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Valley Forge was the military camp 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia where the American Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–78 during the American Revolutionary War. Starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed more than 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778, General George Washington sought quarters for his men with winter almost setting in, and with greatly diminishing prospects for campaigning. Washington and his troops had fought in early December what was the last major engagement of 1777 at the Battle of White Marsh and he devised to pull his troops from their present encampment in the White Marsh area and move to a more secure location for the coming winter. Several locations were considered for the winter quarters, but Washington selected Valley Forge. Valley Forge was named for a forge on Valley Creek in Whitemarsh. It was not the best place to set up camp for the Continental Army. This location also left the vulnerable under-supplied army in striking distance of the British, the area was close enough to the British to keep their raiding and foraging parties out of the interior of Pennsylvania, yet far enough away to halt the threat of British surprise attacks. The densely forested plateau of Mount Joy and the adjoining two-mile-long plateau of Mount Misery made the area easily defensible and it also provided abundant forests of timber that were used to construct thousands of log huts. Seventy-eight of the huts in the camp housed the soldiers, on December 19,1777, Washingtons poorly fed, ill-equipped army staggered into Valley Forge, weary from long marches. Winds blew as the 12,000 Continentals prepared for winters fury, only about one in four of them had shoes, and many of their feet had left bloody footprints from the marching. Grounds were selected for brigade encampments, and defense lines were planned, the first properly constructed hut appeared in three days. One hut required 80 logs, and timber had to be collected from miles away and it went up in one week with the use of only one axe. These huts provided sufficient protection from the cold and wet conditions of a typical Pennsylvania winter. By the beginning of February, construction was completed on 2,000 huts and they provided shelter, but did little to offset the critical shortages that continually plagued the army. Washington ordered that two windows should be cut into each hut during the springtime, as the climate grew considerably warmer, mud was also chipped between the logs to improve ventilation. The soldiers received inadequate supplies of meat and bread, some getting their only nourishment from firecake, occasionally, there would be pepper pot soup, a black pepper-flavored tripe broth. So severe were conditions at times that Washington despaired that unless some great, starve, dissolve, or disperse, in order to obtain subsistence in the best manner they can. Snow was limited and small in amounts, the layer of snow was often too thin to be collected and melted into drinking water

11.
Conway Cabal
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It was named after Brigadier General Thomas Conway, whose letters criticizing Washington were forwarded to the Second Continental Congress. When these suggestions were made public, supporters of Washington mobilized to assist him politically, Conway ended up resigning from the army, and General Horatio Gates, a leading candidate to replace Washington, issued an apology for his role in events. No formal requests were ever made asking for Washingtons removal as commander in chief, there was no sign of any formal conspiracy amongst the various malcontents, although Washington was concerned that there might be one. It was the major political threat to Washingtons command during the war. In the fall of 1777 forces of the British Army successfully captured Philadelphia, the seat of the Second Continental Congress, the series of military setbacks caused many in the Continental Army and Congress to question George Washingtons leadership of the war effort. In contrast, the army of General Horatio Gates had won a signal victory over John Burgoynes forces. In addition to claiming credit for the victory at Saratoga, Gates was politically connected to Congress. Conspiracy is perhaps too strong a term to use in describing varied actions taken by disaffected officers, most of those involved shared the view only that Washington was a less than perfect commander in chief, and very few of their activities were coordinated. His view of Washington as an amateur was supported by Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Rush. A number of French officers who had commissioned into the Continental Army were also critical of Washington. These notably included Johann de Kalb, Louis Lebègue Duportail, Thomas Conway was an Irishman who was educated in France and had served in its military. General Conway had been appointed as Inspector General of the Army, in October 1777 Conway began lobbying Congress for a promotion to major general, including in his writings criticisms of Washington. Washington opposed Conways promotion, as he felt there were many American-born officers more deserving of promotion who would be upset by such a move, General William Alexander received a letter from Gates adjutant, James Wilkinson, that contained this quotation. He forwarded the letter to Washington, who received it on November 8,1777 and this led Washington to consider the possibility that his subordinates were scheming behind his back to replace him. He was already aware that Gates in particular was well connected. Washington wrote Conway a brief letter, Sir, a letter which I received last Night contained the following paragraph, in a letter from Genl Conway to Genl Gates he says, and then quotes the above passage. Conway immediately acknowledged having written to Gates, but denied having written the quoted passage, Washington never saw the actual letter Conway sent to Gates. Henry Laurens did however, and sent Washington an excerpt, What pity there is, but the more I see of this Army the less I think it fit for general Action under its actual Chiefs I speak you sincerely & wish I could serve under you

12.
Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War
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The Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War was the central area of operations in North America in the second half of the American Revolutionary War. During the first three years of the conflict, the largest military encounters were in the north, focused on campaigns around the cities of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. After the failure of the Saratoga campaign, the British largely abandoned operations in the Middle Colonies, General Nathanael Greene, who took over as Continental Army commander after Camden, engaged in a strategy of avoidance and attrition against the British. The two forces fought a string of battles, most of which were victories for the British. In almost all cases, however, the victories strategically weakened the British army by the high cost in casualties and this was best exemplified by the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Several American victories, such as the Battle of Ramseurs Mill, the Battle of Cowpens, the culminating engagement, the Siege of Yorktown, ended with the British armys surrender. It essentially marked the end of British power in the Colonies, in most colonies British officials quickly departed as the Patriots took control. In Virginia, the governor resisted. In the Gunpowder Incident of April 20,1775, Lord Dunmore, Dunmore saw rising unrest in the colony and was trying to deprive Virginia militia of supplies needed for insurrection. Patriot militia led by Patrick Henry forced Dunmore to pay for the gunpowder, Dunmore continued to hunt for caches of military equipment and supplies in the following months, acts that were sometimes anticipated by Patriot militia, who would move supplies before his arrival. Dunmore issued a proclamation in November 1775, promising freedom to runaway slaves who fought for the British. After an incident at Kemps Landing in November where Dunmores troops killed and captured Patriot militiamen, Dunmore and his troops retreated to Royal Navy ships anchored off Norfolk, these naval forces bombarded and burned the town on January 1,1776. Patriot forces in the completed the destruction of the former Loyalist stronghold. Dunmore was driven from an island in Chesapeake Bay that summer, wright escaped captivity and reached the fleet. In the Battle of the Rice Boats in early March, the British successfully left Savannah with a number of merchant vessels containing the rice supplies. South Carolinas population was divided when the war began. The lowland communities, dominated by Charleston, were strongly Patriot in their views, by August 1775, both sides were recruiting militia companies. In September, Patriot militia seized Fort Johnson, Charlestons major defense works, Loyalists fled, either to East Florida or to the Cherokee lands

The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of General …

Hessian map of the Philadelphia campaign

Map of the Brandywine battlefield (1830 engraving)

Location of Stirling's Division on the ridge (i.e. Birmingham Hill) just west of Birmingham road (looking west). The British Grenadier battalions attacked from right to left, ultimately forcing Stirling to fall back with a bayonet charge.